Last night, Square Enix streamed the Final Fantasy XV Special Program to make announcements related to the game. However, some of these announcements weren’t what fans expected to hear. The most shocking announcement of the event would be that longtime Square Enix employee and the game’s director, Hajime Tabata, has left the company. A letter he wrote was read aloud during the event, where he stated his reasoning for leaving. “I have a project that I truly wish to solidify as my next challenge after FFXV. For that reason, I have decided to leave my current position and start my own business in order to achieve my goal.” Tabata thanked fans of the game and states, “I honestly believe the reason we were able to get this far is because of all you loyal fans.”
The other bad news started with the Global Brand Director of the game, Akio Ofuji, discussing the four “The Dawn of the Future” DLC episodes that were announced at PAX East earlier this year. Ofuji went on to announce that three of the four, Episode Aranea, Episode Lunafreya, and Episode Noctis, would be cancelled. Episode Ardyn, however, is still in development with a planned release of March 2019. There will also be an animated short titled Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn Prologue that will “provide context as to why Ardyn became wild for revenge.” Teasers for the anime are set for December 15 and January 10.
With the bad news out of the way, there were more positive content announced at the event. A new version of the game’s multiplayer mode, appropriately named Final Fantasy XV: Comrades, will be released as a standalone title set for release on December 12. This means players will not need the base game to experience this multiplayer mode. This new version will come with 10 new bosses, costumes, and weapons. It will also be free of charge for players who have the current version or $9.99 USD for new players.
Finally, the last major announcement revealed was a crossover event between Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XV in the game. The event, aptly titled “Adventurer from Another World,” will also be released on December 12 and will be part of a free update to the game.